OSV Manages to Secure Drifting Russian Cruise Ship, Near Misses with Offshore Platforms

Drifting cruise ship, Lyubov Orlova, is now being towed by offshore supply vessel (OSV) Atlantic Hawk. The OSV was able to successfully secure a tow line to the derelict Orlova on Wednesday night off Newfoundland’s coast.

The Russian cruise ship had been drifting for nearly one week in the North Atlantic Ocean after its original tow line, connected with to a tug, snapped off Cape Race.

Officials became worried when the vessel was drifting dangerously close to the Hibernia oil platform. They were about 12 kilometers apart, and the Orlova was moving about 40 kilometers per day on average. If ignored, the derelict ship would have hit Ireland’s coast in just over two months.

For Husky Energy, operator of the Atlantic Hawk, the immediate priority is to move the former cruise ship away from offshore facilities. No final decision regarding where the Orlova will be towed to has been made; it was initially being pulled to the Dominican Republic for scrap.

Earlier today, the ship was about 70 kilometers north of Husky's SeaRose oil platform and heading north.

Tugboat Charlene Hunt, which originally lost the Lyubov Orlova, is docked in St. John’s Harbour. Transport Canada is continuing its inspection regarding safety concerns for the tug and its crew.